Re: [greenyes] shopping bag recycling collection

["Mark Snyder" <Mark.Snyder@no.address>]

Plastic bag collection and sorting can be done successfully through
creative approaches.

A bit over a year ago, Minnesota Waste Wise, a nonprofit organization
affiliated with the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Minnesota Office
of Environmental Assistance, started a plastic bag collection program
for the Twin Cities metro area called "It's in the Bag!" They have
collected over half a million pounds worth of bags so far. The bags are
recycled into plastic lumber by the Trex Company.

For details, see http://www.mnchamber.com/about/ww_itsinthebag.cfm 

Mark Snyder
Pollution Prevention Specialist
Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance, a Minnesota Waste Wise
member

>>> Michele Raymond <michele@no.address> 12/10/2004 8:43:05 AM >>>
If I may make a point of info

The Canadians had some success with plastic bag recycling because they
USED 
less HDPE  mostly LDPE was used -- I dont know if this changed.

The HDPE is used for crackle think --  It seems that if more bags were
made 
of the same resin with less  colorings, bags might be easier to 
recycle.  Its not economic to sort bags in the US I understand.

Industry in N.A BALKS at any NOTION of controls on design, but I have
to 
say that the Japanese are doing very well with their voluntary design 
agreement on PET bottles  Bear in mind they have NO SPACE and a very 
homogenous, cooperative culture.

Frankly, some of the ideas I saw presented by McDonough in his "cradle
to 
cradle"  stuff would almost require industry agreements to make any
system 
work.

Just food for thought.

Michele Raymond
Publisher
State Recycling Laws Update

At 10:24 AM 12/9/2004 -0600, Stephan Pollard wrote:
>All,
>
>Can anyone offer/direct me to substantive evidence that the
corporation is 
>indeed directing their collections of shopping bags to 
>recyclers/manufacturers who are turning the material into useable
products 
>and that the plastic isn't being used in Waste to Energy (WTE) 
>applications or landfilled?
>
>Relatedly, as many of you well know, not all plastic film is made of
the 
>same type of plastic and that chemistry matters!  Wal-M.A.R.T.'s 
>collection boxes are full of customer returned #2 (HDPE) bags (theirs
and 
>other store's), #4 (LDPE) bags, other plastic, and residuals.  Does
anyone 
>know what exactly happens to the individual material categories in
this 
>co-mingled collection?
>
>Happy Holidays
>Stephan